Over the past few months Conan O’Brien has proven to be very adept (and funny) at using Twitter. Furthering his comedic mastery of new technology, he has now used YouTube to announce the long-awaited name of his new talk show, premiering Nov. 8 on TBS. It’s Conaw … er, Conan. Well, see for yourself:
Belushi and O'Connell in "The Defenders"
Jim Belushi and Jerry O’Connell, stars of CBS’ new drama The Defenders, will be hosting CBS Fall Preview, a special airing Sept. 6 at 8:30pm ET/PT on, naturally, CBS. The program will also be available On Demand to customers of AT&T U-Verse, Bright House, Comcast, Frontier Communications, Time Warner Cable and Verizon FiOS TV.
The program includes sneak peeks of five new additions to the CBS primetime schedule — Hawaii Five-0 (premieres Sept. 20); The Defenders (Sept. 23); Blue Bloods (Sept. 24); $#*! My Dad Says (Sept. 23); and Mike & Molly (Sept. 20).
And you can rest assured that, according to CBS, Belushi and O’Connell will introduce the video previews with a “fun mix of banter during what appears to be a wardrobe fitting for their Vegas lawyer characters, surrounded by bold suits and pinky rings galore.” Just as long as there’s no wardrobe malfunction.
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© 2010 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. Credit: Robert Voets
By Jeff Pfeiffer
To celebrate the life of late New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, who passed away last week at the age of 80, TBS will feature 10 episodes of Seinfeld this week that feature the memorable, fictionalized character of Steinbrenner (as voiced by series co-creator Larry David, with actor Lee Bear standing in as Steinbrenner, usually seen only from the back).
“Who else could be a memorable character on a television show without actually appearing on the show?” Jerry Seinfeld said after Steinbrenner’s passing. “You felt George even though he wasn’t there. That’s how huge a force of personality he was.”
By Jeff Pfeiffer
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, the latest in the red-hot teen vampire movie franchise, seems destined to be one of the biggest box-office hits 
of this summer after it hits theaters June 30. And hoping to ride that wave of success, a few TV networks will be bringing you Twilight-related programming in the next week or so:
Jimmy Kimmel Live’s Twilight Saga: Total Eclipse of the Heart — June 23, 10pm ET/PT on ABC. In this special, the stars of Eclipse — Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner, Dakota Fanning, Ashley Greene, Peter Facinelli, Bryce Dallas Howard, Julia Jones, Alex Meraz, Elizabeth Reaser, Nikki Reed, Xavier Samuel and Chaske Spencer — join Jimmy in their only primetime appearance together. Exclusive Twilight content will be shown, the cast engages in revealing Q&A, and the cast of Jersey Shore reenacts scenes from Twilight in a comedy segment.
From left: Taylor Ann Hasselhoff, Jeanne Cooper, Jess Walton, David Hasselhoff
The Hoff is feeling a little “Restless” again, as he returns to the series that first gave him fame. David Hasselhoff played Dr. William “Snapper” Foster Jr. from 1975-82 on the long-running CBS daytime drama The Young and the Restless, and he will be briefly reprising that role on the series this month. Hasselhoff appears on the episodes airing June 15-18, and June 21.
The character of Snapper has been working in London, but returns home to visit his sister, Jill (Jess Walton), and finds himself unexpectedly caught up in a family drama.
Very young, very restless: The Hoff as Snapper Foster in the '70s
“I was so honored to be asked back by the Bell family for a short visit to Genoa City,” says Hasselhoff, “this time with my daughter, Taylor Ann.” (Taylor Ann will be making her daytime debut on June 16, playing a nurse in scenes with her father). “It was surreal and felt like I never left.”
In other Y&R casting, James Clement, who was a contestant on the recent Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, will make his daytime debut on the show June 4, playing a police officer in scenes with Greg Rikaart, Peter Bergman, Eric Braeden and Joshua Morrow.
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Top photo: © 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Credit: Sonja Flemming
Bottom photo: © CBS Broadcasting Inc. Credit: CBS Photo Archive
Magnum Force
By Jeff Pfeiffer
He’s made our day, many times over the years, with dozens of memorable, if not classic, films in which he has starred or directed — or both (and in some cases also served as the composer of music scores). Now, Clint Eastwood is getting his own day on TCM when the movie network devotes 24 hours of programming to the works of the Oscar-winning actor and filmmaker.
The celebration airs this Monday, May 31 (Eastwood’s 80th birthday), beginning at 6am ET. At the center of the marathon is the world television premiere of The Eastwood Factor, a new documentary written and directed by critic Richard Schickel and narrated by frequent Eastwood collaborator Morgan Freeman. In the doc, we see Eastwood at home and visiting film locations where his movies were created, so we get a taste of him in both personal and professional settings. Although The Eastwood Factor was released on DVD earlier this year, this TCM showing is an extended version not seen before.
By Jeff Pfeiffer
Scene from the new season's first episode, "Rebirth"
Never underestimate the ability of fans to influence the decisions of entertainment powers-that-be in this age of the Internet and DVD sales. They were effective enough to get new episodes of Family Guy made, and now they have scored another coup by being a major force behind the return of Matt Groening’s Futurama, which begins its sixth season June 24 on Comedy Central, after unceremoniously disappearing from FOX seven years ago (but continuing in an unofficial “season” via a series of successful direct-to-DVD movies over the years).
“[The fans] never let up,” says star Billy West, who voices Philip J. Fry, Professor Farnsworth, Dr. Zoidberg and Zapp Brannigan on the animated series. “They never gave up on the show. There were all these people that just felt disenfranchised because it just got yanked.”
By Jeff Pfeiffer
Nonstop episodes of Law & Order on TNT? Sounds like a typical weekend, doesn’t it? In this case, though, the network will be airing some of the series’ most memorable episodes in a special marathon to mark the occasion of it coming to an end after 20 years. In case you haven’t heard, NBC has decided to cancel the flagship show (but to keep Law & Order: SVU and pick up the new spinoff Law & Order: Los Angeles, lamely shortened to LOLA), and Monday, May 24, will be its final episode.
Network’s Original Movies Are Cult And Ratings Hits
By Jeff Pfeiffer
“I’m gonna watch these movies till my eyes pop right out of my head
Saturday night, Saturday night, Saturday night on Syfy …”
– “Saturday Night on Syfy” by Sci-Fried
“To have a song written about these movies truly shows that [they] are now part of pop culture,” says Thomas Vitale, proudly, referring to the song quoted above. Vitale is executive vice president of programming and original movies at Syfy, and he’s right – his network’s Saturday original movies, long a target of mockery for their low budgets, sensational titles, cheesy CGI effects and B-grade scripts and acting, have pulled off that hard-to-obtain double feat of cult status and ratings success.
Eureka's Colin Ferguson
By Jeff Pfeiffer
Two of Syfy’s biggest series, Warehouse 13 and Eureka, are currently filming a pair of crossover episodes that will air this August.
In the Warehouse 13 episode called “13.1,” airing August 3, Douglas Fargo (Neil Grayston) of Eureka’s Global Dynamics is sent to Warehouse 13 to help update its aging computer system. This triggers a seemingly sentient computer virus that sends the Warehouse into lockdown and traps the team inside. Rene Auberjonois guest-stars in this episode as former Warehouse agent Hugo Miller.
Warehouse 13's Allison Scagliotti
The Eureka episode is called “Crossing Over” and airs August 6. Warehouse 13‘s Claudia Donovan (Allison Scagliotti) pays a visit to Eureka, hoping to see some amazing technological wonders. She gets more than she bargained for when seemingly random objects begin appearing around town. Working with Sheriff Carter (Colin Ferguson) and Fargo, Claudia has to help solve the mystery before the anomalies have deadly consequences, particularly for newcomer Dr. Grant (James Callis).
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Eureka: © Syfy Credit: Marcel Williams
Warehouse 13: © Syfy Credit: Philippe Bosse
